Love’s Labour

‘An exceptional writer and psychoanalyst … the poet laureate of human emotion’

‘An exceptional writer and psychoanalyst … the poet laureate of human emotion’

'A profound meditation on love and healing . Powerful and important. Essential reading '

‘Love really is a labour: that's something they don't tell you in the fairy stories or the reality shows. But Stephen Grosz knows a lot about the pain and joy of human relationships and in this book he generously shares his wisdom with the rest of us’

' Full of moments of revelation that stay with you forever ... It would not be humanly possible for me to recommend his work more highly '

‘Reading Stephen Grosz is a deep sort of pleasure , and this book's movingly told true stories left me feeling wiser and more open to life’

Someone whose work I’ve long admired … Love’s Labour, is a collection of true stories about love and the ways we struggle to find and sustain it

‘This is a special book, full of little epiphanies. Grosz combines illuminating stories from therapy with such beautiful writing that you forget these people are his patients and not fictional characters. He reminds us how complex love is, how much it requires of us, and how many times we can misunderstand each other – and ourselves – in the process. It's a love story about the relationship between lovers, between a therapist and patient, and between us all, if we are brave enough to attempt it’

‘Grosz’s transfixing stories will increase your openness to and aptitude for the greatest of all emotions: you will be better at love after you read this book ’

' Stephen Grosz is a beautiful writer, a clear, compelling thinker, an observant, wise, and deeply empathetic human being '

' Full of thought prompts and ideas that resonate long after you finish the book ... It’s a strange, thoughtful, deeply compelling book'

'This is a beautiful book'

'Love’s Labour is a hopeful book and all the more convincingly so because it promises relatively small shifts rather than miraculous recoveries'

'A compressed, brilliant distillation of 40 years of clinical experience and deep thought, written to last. Grosz conveys what he knows, in all its richness, in as pithy and digestible form as possible'

'Chilling, moving, unforgettably… what a privilege it is for the reader to catch a glimpse of this process

' Clearly written and deeply moving. Above all, it brings the experience of psychoanalysis to life ... A humane and compelling book full of astonishing insights i nto his patients' lives'

'Another work from the master of writing about therapy . Whisper this sacrilege: he’s a significantly better writer than Irvin Yalom. A book to savour, re-read and return to for new insights '

Grosz is an exceptionally deft writer and his insight are as revelatory as ever… a powerful antidote to the idea that therapy can be performed by AI

'Who isn’t fascinated by the inner lives of others? In Love’s Labour , psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz takes you inside the room as his (heavily disguised) patients dissect their relationships, behaviour and deepest longings. Beautifully executed, each vignette offers an insight into the human condition. I defy you to read it and not feel seen '

'Stephen Grosz is a supreme exponent of this kind of analytic writing ... The final story, 'Hauntings,' is the most moving and memorable case study I have read'

[A] wonderfully earnest sequel [to The Examined Life ]

Stephen Grosz is a practicing psychoanalyst - he has worked with patients for more than forty years. Born in America, he was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Oxford University, and now lives in London. His Number One Sunday Times bestseller, The Examined Life , has been translated into more than thirty languages.